Living with schizophrenia: 3 tips to give your best at work and at home while managing cognitive symptoms

Living with schizophrenia: 3 tips to give your best at work and at home while managing cognitive symptoms

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

The ability to think, remember, reason and plan is called cognition — and it’s needed for almost every aspect of daily life. From making sure you get up on time for work to making dinner, remembering to call your dentist or sharing a friendly debate with a loved one, cognitive skills are essential.

Cognitive issues — including challenges with memory, attention and executive functions such as planning and problem-solving — affect most people living with schizophrenia. However, not everyone with schizophrenia will experience the same set or severity of symptoms.

“Because cognitive work is so important in our lives, these symptoms present a barrier in day-to-day life,” says Matej Markota, M.D., a psychiatry expert at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. There are strategies and treatments that may help you better manage your cognitive symptoms — both at work and at home.

Managing cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia

To help get you started, consider these tips:

  • Talk to your healthcare team. Learning about your condition is often the first step in developing a treatment plan. Your care team can listen to your concerns, help you develop goals and create a treatment plan to manage your symptoms.
  • Consider cognitive therapy. In addition to medication, your care team may recommend cognitive remediation therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive remediation therapy focuses on improving and training different areas of cognition. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of structured talk therapy that can help people respond more effectively to challenging situations.
  • Practice relaxation and stress management techniques. In a professional environment or personal interaction, it’s not always possible to stop what you’re doing to seek relaxation or stress relief. Mindfulness techniques can be used to refocus, no matter where you are. Researchers have found meditation can reduce stress, anxiety and job burnout. It also can improve concentration.

Managing your cognitive symptoms will likely take some trial and error. It can take time to adapt across different professional and personal situations. But the better you understand your symptoms and treatment options, the easier it will be to cope. You also may find it becomes easier to talk openly about the support you need.

Getting the conversation started: Setting expectations with loved ones when you have schizophrenia

Talking openly about your cognitive symptoms can help the people in your life better understand what you’re experiencing — and how to help.

It isn’t necessary to tell everyone in your life about your diagnosis or your cognitive symptoms. But there may be a certain group of core people in your support network, such as family and close friends, you can talk to about schizophrenia and the full range of your symptoms. For others, you may choose to speak more generally, rather than about a specific diagnosis. Write down who you’d like to speak to and consider what you are comfortable sharing.

A conversation starter could be as simple as, “I’d like to talk to you about some challenges I’ve been experiencing with my memory” or “Do you have some time to talk about something important to me?” If holding a verbal conversation is challenging, consider writing a note or sending a text message — whatever style of communication feels the most manageable.

To set expectations, don’t be afraid to be direct. Try saying something simple such as, “It’s hard for me to process information. When we talk, it’s helpful when you speak more slowly.”

People may have questions for you, potentially even insensitive questions. Stigma and misconceptions around mental health can affect even well-intentioned people. You can discuss their concerns and direct them to resources, such as Mayo Clinic’s overview cognitive impairment, as well as the Mayo Clinic Connect recommended reading list and resource guide.

Requesting accommodations at school and work for people with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia can be considered a disability, though you may or may not use that term. In fact, schizophrenia is one of the top 20 causes of disability worldwide.

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people living with disabilities. To ensure equal treatment and accessibility, this law extends certain protections for people with disabilities at school and in the workplace — including the hiring process. As a result, you may be eligible for certain accommodations, either at school or work. For example, if you struggle with verbal learning — processing information when it’s spoken out loud — you may consider requesting notes for all important meetings or other accommodations.

The ADA has a guide to disability rights and information on what an accommodations process may look like. It’s possible you may need to provide a school or employer with certain medical information, such as a letter from your care team, or a more formal accommodation request letter. You can receive free, confidential advice about the process from the Job Accommodations Network.

Finally, Dr. Markota says there are evidence-based resources that may help you find and be successful in employment. Supported employment programs, such as the Individual Placement and Support model, can help place you in a job that matches your skills and interests and provides ongoing support as needed. More than two dozen controlled trials found that with this program, many people with schizophrenia were able to succeed at their jobs.

To get in touch with a supported employment program, speak with your care team or contact your local social services or supported employment office.

With schizophrenia, small steps add up to improvement

Just like with any chronic health condition, there is no magic pill for schizophrenia’s cognitive symptoms, Dr. Markota says. However, the small steps you take to manage your symptoms can make a big difference in how you feel about and manage your daily life.

“If you combine multiple interventions, I think it does add up to meaningful effects,” says Dr. Markota. “If you’re on the right medications, if you have supported employment services, if you’ve done some cognitive remediation, that can all really change your cognitive performance, but more importantly, your quality of life.”

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

link